Robert Downey Jr. About To Join Captain America 3 And It May Be Civil War

Late word has come in that Robert Downey Jr. is on the verge of signing on to Captain America 3 which is going to bring the Civil War storyline into the cinematic universe. This will be the catalyst for the next phase of Marvel films. Downey is said to be in final negotiations for the film with him already slated to appear in Avengers: Age of Ultron and Avengers 3.

The story line pits Billionaire Tony Stark against Cap’s alter-ego Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) as they take opposite sides over a Superhero Registration Act which would force heroes to reveal their identities. Stark supports the program while Rogers is against it as it threaten civil liberties. In essence this will make Stark the films antagonist.

This may also be what is fueling the speculation of Spider-Man coming over to the Marvel Universe because at this point, there are no heroes to register in the cinematic universe. SHIELD knows who all the Avengers are. So unless the Netflix deal and Antman are supposed to create all the heroes the government is worried about registering… the story will need to take a very different direction.

From what is being reported, the main sticking point of the deal came down to just how much Downey was to be in the film. Marvel approached him about a smaller part in the film but the actor felt his role would need to be bigger which would earn him more money. This upset Marvel Entertainment Chief Ike Perlmutter, who ordered Iron Man to be written out of the story. But Kevin Feige kept working at it with Downey’s reps and now they are just about there.

Downey made $50 million for The Avengers and is said to collect $40 for Captain America 3 plus a backend if the film outperforms Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

The fallout from Captain America 3 will be a factor in Avengers 4 and beyond.

Has quietly been working at Bleeding Cool for over three years. He has written comics for Image, Top Cow, Shadowline, Avatar, IDW, Dynamite, Moonstone, Humanoids and Zenescope. He is the author of the Lucius Fogg series of novels and a published photographer.